​It was deep in December when Ruby's world was turned upside down. Instead of enjoying the holidays in the comforts of home, three-year-old Ruby found herself in the cold confines of a shelter. Her owner died and there were no relatives, so Ruby, a Feist mix, was taken to the Sampson County Animal Shelter in North Carolina on December 21st. The shelter reported that Ruby was sad and depressed from the loss of her owner, and scared and bewildered in the stressful shelter environment. Little did Ruby know that her situation was even more dire than she realized because of testing heartworm positive.